Starting Rotation Report

During the 2009 season the starting pitching has played the most important role in leading the Tigers to their current spot atop the AL Central standings.

A few players have stood out head and shoulders above the others. While some are trying to work hard on shaping current performances like past ones.

(Note: grades will be based on expectations most experts had at the beginning of the season.)

The Good

Justin Verlander (Age 26) 2009 Salary (3.68 Million)
Current 09 Stats 7-2 Record 3.02 ERA
Projected Season Numbers 19-5 Record 3.02 ERA

Verlander has had a spectacular season this year in Detroit. He continues to excel as the summer months are nearing. Verlander has taken over the leadership role of the pitching staff for the Tigers. He is a leader by example and what an example he is showing out on the mound. He started off the season rough, but showed that he can fight through adversity. With that he showed everybody what kind of character he is made of. Cy Young kind of character. With the most recent stretch he has put together since the end of April he has surged in the discussion for AL Cy Young Award winner along with Zach Greinke of the Kansas City Royals and Roy Halladay of the Toronto Blue Jays.

Glaring stats- leads the AL in strikeouts with 106 in 13 starts this season. Has pitched two complete games and thrown one shutout. Is well on pace to break his innings pitched and strikeouts thrown during a season. Has not given up a home run to a right handed batter all season. Verlander is 3-0 with a 0.82 ERA at home. During day games he is 2-0 with a 1.42 ERA. In the month of May he was 5-0 with a 1.52 ERA in six starts. Verlander is currently on a remarkable streak--has thrown nine consecutive quality starts.

Grade: A. The leadership role he has stepped into and really has taken advantage of for the starters contributes to this grade. The talent, poise, and confidence he possesses on the mound is putting Verlander in the class of the top five to ten pitchers in the game today. Verlander will need to continue to toe the rubber at a high level if the Tigers plan on making a run come October. Verlander could win 20 games for the first time in his career.

Edwin Jackson (Age 25) 2009 Salary (2.2 Million)
Current 09 Stats 6-3 Record 2.25 ERA
Projected Season Numbers 16-8 Record 2.25 ERA

Wow is how you sum up Jackson's season thus far. He is currently ranked second in the AL in ERA just behind Zach Greinke (who leads just about everything pitching besides wins--but come on look at his team the Royals). Jackson was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers out of a high school and was touted as a can't miss prospect. But when he came to the Dodgers and was more like couldn't hit (as in strike zone) because he walked too many batters. Jackson has come a long ways since then and his control problems seem to be history. Jackson had his best year of his career last year with Tampa Bay Rays. Good thing for Tigers fans--he is having an even better one this year. Jackson and Verlander have become very good friends and seem to be feeding off each other. As in they are trying to match each other start after start. With the numbers these two have been putting up lately--they have single-handedly kept the Tigers in contention every game out.

Glaring stats-had his seventh consecutive quality start snapped by the Chicago White Sox this afternoon. Has yet to hitter a batter this season. Has thrown one complete game and is 3-2 with a 1.55 ERA on the road this season. During starts at night, Jackson is the only Tigers starter with an ERA of less than two.

Grade: A. Jackson has been there for Verlander every time out in an effort to show MLB teams that they have a 1-2 punch in the rotation. Jackson must handle the summer months which can be long and hard as a big league pitcher in the humid Detroit air. He has the tools to do it, but can he get his mind right to maintain focus start after start. If the Tigers have a chance at being the best team in the AL this season it's imperative they have a starter who can stay close to Verlander's performances. Jackson has done it so far. Will he keep it up?

Rick Porcello (Age 20) 2009 Salary (2.1 Million)
Current 09 Stats 6-4 Record 3.98 ERA
Projected Season Numbers 16-11 Record 3.98 ERA

Coming into the season nobody knew how good Porcello was going to perform in a Tigers uniform. Not even he could be sure. At the ripe old age of 20 and in his first professional season, the pressure was mounting. That is if you feel pressure. Porcello does not. He is as calm as they come and it shows with his mound presence out there. That presence helps maintain Porcello's confidence. He has that look in his eye that he has been here before. But yet we know he hasn't because he isn't even legal to drink alcohol. Porcello has cemented himself as the No. 3 starter and is here to stay for a long time to come in the big leagues.

Glaring stats-was 5-0 with a 1.50 ERA in the month of May--which gave him even better numbers than Verlander in that very same month. Has yet to throw more than 100 pitches in one game this year.

Grade: A-. He is off to a great start, he has had stellar performances already. The thing I like about Porcello so much is he stays even keel. When bad things happen--he doesn't get too down. In turn when good things happen--he doesn't get too high. That is something that has carried Verlander and if Porcello can maintain that it will go along way in his MLB career. Can Porcello keep up throughout the summer? Or will the Tigers have to shut him down due to tiredness or just being cautious with him? The Tigers won't take any chances with this rookie phenom--at the first sign of struggle he will be shutdown during the 2009 season.

The Bad

Armando Galaragga (Age 27) 2009 Salary (435,000)
Current 09 Stats 3-6 Record 5.19 ERA
Projected Season Numbers 8-16 Record 5.19 ERA

The sophomore slump can hit everybody in their second season in any sport. Some players can get through it while others get caught up in it. Galarraga is in the midst of that skid right now. He is battling and fighting doing all he can to show the Tigers he should be in the starting rotation. After winning 13 games last season and posting an ERA of 3.73 in 28 starts last year he deserves every right to have some patience. He was one of very few bright spots during the 2008 campaign, one in which most Tigers would like to forgot about--excluding Galarraga.

Glaring stats-leads the Tigers in home runs given up this year with 13. During the month of April, Galarraga was 3-0 with a 1.85 ERA. May was a month he would like to forget about as he went 0-5 and posted an ERA of 8.49. Even with all his struggles this year, he has managed to put together six quality starts in 12 games started. During day games Galarraga is 3-0 with a 3.38 ERA. But during night games he is 0-6 with a 6.37 ERA.

Grade: C- The six losses and high ERA hurt. Although Galarraga has shown signs of turning it around and Jim Leyland is going to give him a chance to turn it around. It doesn't hurt that Bonderman and Willis aren't exactly lighting up batters either. Galarraga will at least get one more start. He needs to make the most of it, or else he could be moving to the bullpen, or even worse--taking a trip to Toledo.


Dontrelle Willis (Age 27) 2009 Salary (10 Million)
Current 09 Stats 1-3 Record 6.60 ERA
Projected Season Numbers 3-8 Record 6.60 ERA

Ups and downs pretty much sum up Willis' season this year. First he was placed on the disabled list due to a social anxiety disorder. He first made it back on May 13 against the Minnesota Twins in which he gave up four runs in 4 2/3 innings of work. Willis has been shaky with some good starts and some starts he would like to forget about since that time. He has to improve his control over his next start, needs to focus on throwing more strikes, which will ultimately lower his pitch count so he can go further into games.

Glaring stats-Willis has put together two quality starts in six opportunities. he has walked ten batters in his last two starts. Against right-handed batters this year he has walked 15 and struck only eight. Has yet to surrender a home run at home.

Grade: D+. Weather or not Willis wants to think about it. This is a pressure packed season for him. If he strings together two or three bad starts, their is a decent chance he could be sent down to the minors or released altogether. It's a make or break year for the D-Train with the Detroit Tigers. It promises to be an interesting ride. Will it be a memorable one for Willis?

The Ugly

Jeremy Bonderman (Age 26) 2009 Salary (12.5 Million)
Current 09 Stats 0-1 Record 13.50 ERA
Projected Season Numbers 0-3 Record 13.50 ERA

Bonderman has had a dismal season thus far. Sure it has been brief with the Detroit Tigers as he only lasted four innings this past Monday in his season debut against the Chicago White Sox. He gave up six earned runs on eight hits in his start. But when you include how long it took Bonderman too recover from his shoulder surgery which ended his season last year in June. It's been a shaky ride and Bonderman still isn't 100 percent. At least he is pain free. The velocity on his fastball is down to the upper 80's topping off at 90. Talk about a change from the guy who pitched 200+ innings back in 2006. At that time Bonderman's fastball ranged from 94-97 mph. A drastic difference and one that Bonderman will have to adjust too. It was announced yesterday that Bonderman will head to the bullpen as Willis will be the No. 5 guy in the rotation for the time being. Is this a good thing or a bad thing? Only Bonderman will be able to decide that as needs to just focus on getting better everyday.

Glaring stats- Bonderman has never won 15 games in a single season. Along with that Bonderman has never scored an ERA of less than four in any one season. Bonderman is only 26 years old but he has pitched nearly 1,000 innings and has started 164 games in his career so far.

Grade: F. For a guy who is making 12.5 Million during the 2009 season. Both Mike Illitch (owner) and Dave Dombrowski (general manager) will be expecting big things from Bonderman during the second half of the season. Tigers fans have been expecting big things from Bonderman for a long time now. His talent and star power have now been surpassed by three pitchers who are performing better in Verlander, Jackson, and Porcello. Forget asking the question of whether or not Bonderman can be an ace in the big leagues. Can he be a quality starter again? Anytime a player goes under the knife, the question must be raised.

In Minors

Chris Lambert (Age 26) 2009 Salary (league minimum)
Numbers in Minors 2-5 Record 5.14 ERA

Currently down with the Toledo Mudhens at the Triple-A level. Lambert has had a tough season thus far in 11 starts with the Mudhens. Although Lambert does lead the team in strikeouts with 54 this season. Lambert is reaching that age where its go time, meaning he must make it to the big league level soon or else he could just be known as a Triple-A starter. Lambert is a pitcher who throws in the low 90's and could be included in a possible mid season trade along with a Ramirez and other prospects. Lambert was acquired from the St. Louis Cardinals for Mike Maroth in 2007.

Luke French (Age 23) 2009 Salary (league minimum)
Current 09 Stats 0-0 Record 0.00 ERA
Numbers in Minors 4-3 Record 3.53 ERA

French got a chance to make his big league debut coming out of the bullpen with the Tigers this season in mid-May against the Oakland Athletics . French is a left-handed starter with the Toledo Mudhens. French was originally drafted back in 2008 by the Tigers in the eighth round, so he has been in the minors for a while. It's taken French some time to adjust to professional hitters coming out of high school but he seems to be improving every season. Look for French to have a possible opportunity to play a role in the Tigers bullpen as a left-handed specialist in years to come.

Eddie Bonine (Age 28) 2009 Salary (league minimum)
Numbers in Minors 0-3 Record 4.08 ERA

Bonine is known as a strike thrower because that's exactly what he does. Your not going to see too many walks being drawn when Bonine is manning the rubber. He is currently a starter with the Toledo Mudhens. Bonine got a chance to showcase his skills with the Tigers last season for a couple starts in the summer months and he posted a record with a ERA. He is not a bad option as a spot starter and with the right opportunity he could be a fifth starter at the MLB level. Don't expect Bonine to get that opportunity anytime soon though with the Tigers because their is a logjam at the position currently.